Would Britain have been better off in the eurozone?Wow! I suppose there’s always some argument people could make, but, my God! Cameron and Osborne love to claim credit for Britain’s low borrowing costs, but in fact those seem to be overwhelmingly the result of the UK not being in the euro. Even now, with everything going on, Spain’s fiscal prospects look no worse and maybe better than Britain’s and yet interest rates there are 6.6 per cent and 1.6 per cent here. I actually think they ought to put up statue to Gordon Brown in Trafalgar Square to thank him for keeping Britain out of the euro. It would have been an utter disaster if Britain had joined.

Did Gordon Brown “save the world” in 2008?I think it’s arguably right. We now look back in those six months after Lehman Brothers failed [in October 2008] and policymakers did the right things. They did what was necessary to stop a complete financial collapse. We now talk as if that was fated to happen, but maybe not. Clearly it was Gordon Brown who moved first in doing the bank recapitalisation. Without that maybe the people who thought it was great idea to let Lehman fail to eliminate moral hazard might have continued to carry the argument for another couple of months, by which time it might have been irreversible.

Maurauder, it isn't quite that simple, Germany is in the Euro but has even lower interest rates. It is not much to do with the Euro and everything to do with the perceived risk of default.

Germany has low interest rates and is an economic success because of the Euro - they have been the big beneficiary. Italy and Spain (and Greece) have been the big losers. It means that VW's cars compete on a level playing field with FIAT. In the past if Italy wasn't competitive they'd devalue the lira. That's how the excchange rate just before the Euro came in was 3000 lira to the pound. In 1978 the first time I went to italy it was 1600. In my previous employment I used to have quite a lot of dealings with Italy. . In my business Italy led the field for decades - now because of the disadvantage of the Euro they're losing out to Korea and China in finished steel engineering products.They hate the euro They hated it as far back as 2005. I'm sure if they could find a way out they would - but Germany don't want that - they have too much to lose.

"This is a very wealthy country, money is no object" D. Cameron February 2014

Germany has low interest rates and is an economic success because of the Euro - they have been the big beneficiary. Italy and Spain (and Greece) have been the big losers. It means that VW's cars compete on a level playing field with FIAT. In the past if Italy wasn't competitive they'd devalue the lira. That's how the excchange rate just before the Euro came in was 3000 lira to the pound. In 1978 the first time I went to italy it was 1600. In my previous employment I used to have quite a lot of dealings with Italy. . In my business Italy led the field for decades - now because of the disadvantage of the Euro they're losing out to Korea and China in finished steel engineering products.They hate the euro They hated it as far back as 2005. I'm sure if they could find a way out they would - but Germany don't want that - they have too much to lose.

Isn't odd then that a recent documentary showed that the people of the country suffering the most at the moment, Greece, want to stay in the Euro.

On my many recent visits to Greece and chatting to the locals they almost all want to stick with the Euro, they see more advantages from being in than being out despite their recent troubles.

Germany has low interest rates and is an economic success because of the Euro - they have been the big beneficiary. Italy and Spain (and Greece) have been the big losers. It means that VW's cars compete on a level playing field with FIAT. In the past if Italy wasn't competitive they'd devalue the lira. That's how the excchange rate just before the Euro came in was 3000 lira to the pound. In 1978 the first time I went to italy it was 1600. In my previous employment I used to have quite a lot of dealings with Italy. . In my business Italy led the field for decades - now because of the disadvantage of the Euro they're losing out to Korea and China in finished steel engineering products.They hate the euro They hated it as far back as 2005. I'm sure if they could find a way out they would - but Germany don't want that - they have too much to lose.

I'm in Italy right now and I last went to the Fiat plant yesterday.

Strangely enough Italians do not hate the Euro. And Fiat are doing very well in places like Brazil and China, just not in Europe because of the crisis. Again production has largely moved overseas with very little going on in Turin.

The problem Fiat have is that they produce budget cars rather than middle-of-the-range ones as well as higher end cars like Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. The cheaper ones have to battle against imports from poor countries whilst the top end ones are never going to be mass sellers. VW are fortunate enough to make the right kind of car to benefit from the times we find ourselves in.

Fiat have been in trouble for decades and survived this long on government bailouts.

Germany has low interest rates and is an economic success because of the Euro - they have been the big beneficiary. Italy and Spain (and Greece) have been the big losers. It means that VW's cars compete on a level playing field with FIAT. In the past if Italy wasn't competitive they'd devalue the lira. That's how the excchange rate just before the Euro came in was 3000 lira to the pound. In 1978 the first time I went to italy it was 1600. In my previous employment I used to have quite a lot of dealings with Italy. . In my business Italy led the field for decades - now because of the disadvantage of the Euro they're losing out to Korea and China in finished steel engineering products.They hate the euro They hated it as far back as 2005. I'm sure if they could find a way out they would - but Germany don't want that - they have too much to lose.

Spot on if the euro wasn't here the deusch mark would be too strong for German exports to compete. The strong euro economies are benefiting from the weaker ones by the virtue of a suppressed currency value, enabling their manufacturing to be more competeuve for export.

Strangely enough Italians do not hate the Euro. And Fiat are doing very well in places like Brazil and China, just not in Europe because of the crisis. Again production has largely moved overseas with very little going on in Turin.

How many actual working Italians did you speak to as opposed to management geeks? As I said in my earlier post up to three years ago I had regular phone contact with Italy and used to visit 2/3 three times a year on business plus holidays. The general attitude among ordinary working Italians was that the Euro had made them poorer and that they would be better off without it. e.g Italians like to eat out - before the Euro the average Italian could afford to take his family out once a week for a substantial meal - now he's lucky if he can afford to take them for a pizza. This is a direct quote from a long standing Italian friend of mine.

"This is a very wealthy country, money is no object" D. Cameron February 2014

How many actual working Italians did you speak to as opposed to management geeks? As I said in my earlier post up to three years ago I had regular phone contact with Italy and used to visit 2/3 three times a year on business plus holidays. The general attitude among ordinary working Italians was that the Euro had made them poorer and that they would be better off without it. e.g Italians like to eat out - before the Euro the average Italian could afford to take his family out once a week for a substantial meal - now he's lucky if he can afford to take them for a pizza. This is a direct quote from a long standing Italian friend of mine.

My students are all "management geeks" though I do work with normal people.

I agree with you that everybody says that the Euro made life expensive but at the same time nobody wants to leave it.

That's what I think. There's no way that the government can do a U turn on this policy with Osborne still as chancellor. There's no way Osborne can change policy, Cameron can just if he blames Osborne and removes him. Put him in charge of Northern Ireland that'll learn 'im!

"This is a very wealthy country, money is no object" D. Cameron February 2014